Scotiabank Raises Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Price Target to $46.50

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its price objective lifted by Scotiabank from $45.50 to $46.50 in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Verizon Communications from a sell rating to a neutral rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $45.23.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $41.43 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.29. Verizon Communications has a 12 month low of $30.14 and a 12 month high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.20 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.42%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 99.25%.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Taylor Hoffman Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. Taylor Hoffman Wealth Management now owns 9,353 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 2,314 shares in the last quarter. Leo Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,346,000. WealthTrust Axiom LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC now owns 118,806 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,479,000 after buying an additional 2,422 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 127,632 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,131,000 after buying an additional 1,616 shares during the period. Finally, GFS Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $212,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. It operates in two segments, Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business).